I am not sure how much critical thinking goes on in some of the humanities and arts departments. In almost all cases the courses are geared in the philosophical tendencies of the professor. Let us not even talk about class discussions and how some students are even afraid to say they are theists. There was a very good article in the Christian Science Monitor about these issues but you cannot access it if you go to their website. I can access and will be happy to send it to anyone that wants a copy.

I suspect that many of my colleagues in the humanities who are rather
conservative would be surprised and amused to find themselves labeled
"radical leftists." I've remained a progressive in my old age, but I never
could find Marxist theory in "The Aeneid" (though there's a bit of primitive
communism in the early chapters of Acts).

Another point amidst all this talk about "liberals" running the academy. Do
be reminded that we still use the term "liberal arts" to refer to the kind
of education that teaches young people to think critically, learn widely,
act ethically, and prepare not only for a career but for life. I have found
this to be just as true at the secular university I now teach part-time at,
as was the case at Christian but independent, non-sectarian liberal arts
Berea College.

As Horace once quipped (broadly translated): "One man's Mede is another
man's Persian."

> Gordon you are quite right but a bit generous. The humanities and social
sciences are radical leftists. BTW I see nothing scientific in “social
sciences,” which ought to be called, at best, social studies or maybe social
ruminations.
>
>
>
> Moorad
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu on behalf of gordon brown
> Sent: Wed 5/19/2004 5:39 PM
> To: John W Burgeson
> Cc: asa@calvin.edu
> Subject: Re: RE: Shapes of a Wedge
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, 19 May 2004, John W Burgeson wrote:
>
> > There is a reason why colleges and universities are "liberal," you know.
> > It is because they have had to wrestle with the hard problems.
>
> It is misleading to label colleges and universities as liberal because
> their humanities and social sciences departments are. The views of those
> in the engineering or business colleges may be very different.
>
> Gordon Brown
> Department of Mathematics
> University of Colorado
> Boulder, CO 80301-0395
>
>
>
>